'I thought we bowled pretty well'

Smith was gracious in defeat and praised the Kiwis for their showing, but was disappointed that his team lost too many wickets after sitting pretty at one stage.

"I thought we bowled pretty well. Credit to Jesse Ryder. At 100 for 2, we were sitting well, and then we lost too many wickets. The stand between Jesse and Taylor kept them in good stead, but we kept them to 220, which is very gettable. We lost too many wickets."

"Your guess is as good as mine (referring to South Africa's penchant for losing in knock-out stages) its been happening since 1992," he said.

Despite the shock exit, Smith said there have been a few positives from the tournament.

"We have got some big positives out of the World Cup. We weren't good enough tonight, but we have to take it forward and not get bogged down. There will be a new coach and new captain. We are disappointed with tonight, and nothing I say is going to change that for fans back home," Smith said.

"It's so hard when you are injured continuously to get any rhythm, so the feeling has been better to be on the field. We believe we can go all the way now. This is among the top 3 moments in my career, another one being the win over South Africa in the 2003 World Cup in Wanderers."

"Considering that we were written off and doing well in a ground where we don't have a great record, it's a great feeling," he added.

Image: Jacob Oram celebrates with teammate after beating South Africa in the World Cup quarter-finalPhotographs: Reuters